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USMH Celebrates its 10th Anniversary

Written by lcumberPosted: Fri, 2015-01-30 13:120 Comments

The University System of Maryland at Hagerstown (USMH) is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. In celebration of this milestone and in honor of a “Decade of Building Futures,” USMH will be hosting a year of festivities. The festivities are set to include an Alumni Ambassador picnic, an Alumni Ambassador parade party, open houses and many others, all of which will culminate in the Feaste at Yuletide Scholarship Fundraiser on December 4, 2015.

USMH operates in the renovated Baldwin Complex, which itself stands on the site of two earlier hotels. The first hotel, The Globe Tavern, is famous for an illustrious guest, George Washington, who stayed on October 20, 1790. The Globe Tavern eventually burned and was replaced by The Washington House, similarly known for a famous guest- the abolitionist John Brown. The Washington House also burned; it was at this time that the Baldwin Complex made its architectural debut.

For nearly half a century, the Baldwin Complex was prosperous, operating as a hotel, The Baldwin House, and then as numerous department stores, Leiters and Routzahn’s. Nevertheless, by 1990 the building was vacant and in desperate need of repair. By the mid-1990’s, the building, owned by the City of Hagerstown, was described as the city’s “largest eyesore”. It was not until 2000 that the University System of Maryland confirmed the Baldwin Complex would be its new downtown Hagerstown campus.

In May of 2002, construction work began, renovating the Baldwin Complex and eventually transforming the space in to a state-of-the-art facility. The project included a $12.2 million building renovation and a $4.4 park construction. Today, USMH has over five hundred students and has awarded $250,000 in scholarship funds.

USMH is a regional higher education center offering 26 academic programs through six partner universities. The Hagerstown campus opened its doors to students in January 2005 and has since graduated 1,400 students.

Since 2005, USMH has helped to provide local access to undergraduate and graduate-level degree programs, ensuring the highest academic standards are coupled with both convenience and affordability.